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During November 2024, English number 10 George Ford looked disheartened on the Allianz Stadium turf.

He was called upon from the bench to help the home side close out a memorable triumph facing the Kiwis, however was unable to score a late penalty along with a drop-kick as England were beaten by two points.

After those expensive errors, Ford needed to put in effort to secure another chance to achieve success to the English team.

He played only 25 minutes during this year's Six Nations however a series of impressive performances, notably in the summer matches against Argentina and the USA as Fin Smith and Marcus Smith had departed for Lions tour commitments, reestablished him strongly among starting candidates.

The 32-year-old did more than justify the coach's trust in starting him facing the Kiwis, plus the club standout produced a man-of-the-match display to help the home team to their initial victory against the All Blacks on home soil ending a drought dating to 2012.

The pivotal moment came when Ford nailed back-to-back drop-goals just before the break.

This assisted England bounce back from being down 12-0 to narrow the gap to 12-11 by halftime, before Borthwick's star-studded bench once more performed during the final period to support England to a comfortable 33-19 win.

"Credit must be given to the experienced players in our team, notably George," the coach stated. "During that phase as he scored those crucial kicks, he managed the game absolutely brilliantly.

"Last year I believed Ford substituted and competed very effectively [versus the All Blacks].

"One kick struck the post and he tried a drop-goal under pressure, however his play was outstanding.

"He is a phenomenal leader, a brilliant player and an even finer individual. We are privileged to have him within our roster."

Drop-goals 'always in the plan'

The Kiwis started quickly at Allianz Stadium, surging to a twelve-point advantage through scores from Leicester Fainga'anuku and Codie Taylor.

After Lawrence's strong try, Ford's consecutive drop-goals ensured England returned to the halftime break with psychological advantage.

"The difficult aspect at those times is, when the scoreboard says twelve to zero, we are able to adhere to our guns and our convictions the superior method to perform is," Ford stated.

"We got ourselves back into the game and we recognized if we started the latter half effectively, with the bench coming on, we were in a good position.

"Although facing a quarter-hour remaining, we were positioned near our try line with a yellow card, thus we encountered obstacles in that instance too.

"I think that's what elite competition requires - who can deal in those circumstances the best."

Both kicks occurred within two minutes of each other while the number 10 who executed three drop-kicks in a successful match versus Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, showed all his 104-cap experience.

Ford hit two drop-goals for Sale in a league contest played in tough circumstances against Bath - it is a skill he has extensively practiced.

"The drop-kicks are consistently planned," Ford added.

"Borthwick represents an incredible coach since he continually in my ear about it, and appropriately because three points prove important at any stage of play."

Ford guided his side brilliantly around the field the entire match, making smart decisions - both to compete and identifying openings behind the visitors' backfield.

His trademark 'spiral bomb' additionally troubled the New Zealand player, who failed to regather.

Following his start in the national team's triumph against Australia in early November, Ford handed over the fly-half position to his replacement for the Fiji victory a week later.

But the biggest test in terms of difficulty came against the three-time world champions, with Ford regaining his starting role.

England, now on a run of ten consecutive victories, face Argentina in late November and curiosity remains to determine if the manager opts to Fin Smith or persists with Ford.

Regardless of the selection, Ford established with two years remaining prior to global competition that significant amounts of career ahead in him.